Jakarta. The Constitutional Court has rejected a legal challenge seeking to allow interfaith couples to marry without converting their religion, dealing another blow to advocates pushing for broader marriage rights in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, the court dismissed a petition filed by Henoch Thomas and several other applicants challenging Article 2 Paragraph (1) of the 1974 Marriage Law. The provision states that a marriage is only valid if conducted in accordance with the laws of each party’s religion or belief.

The applicants had argued that the article should be reinterpreted to allow interfaith marriages to be legally recognized by the state, even if the couple adheres to different religions. They said the current framework violates constitutional guarantees of equality and freedom of religion, while creating practical barriers for couples seeking to register their marriages.

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo said the petition was rejected because it was poorly structured and difficult for the justices to assess on its merits. He added that the arguments largely focused on administrative hurdles in registering marriages with the Civil Registry, rather than the constitutionality of religious validity under marriage law.

“The petition is misdirected,” Suhartoyo said during the hearing. “What the applicants describe are difficulties in civil registration, not a constitutional issue concerning whether a marriage is religiously valid.”

The ruling means the court did not proceed to examine the substance of the case. It also reinforces the court’s long-standing position on interfaith marriage, which it has consistently upheld for more than a decade.

Interfaith marriage cases are not new to Indonesia’s top constitutional body. Since 2014, at least five similar petitions have been filed, including one in 2022. All were rejected. In each case, the court has maintained that the state has the authority to regulate marriage based on religious norms, as mandated by the Marriage Law.

Under Article 2 of the law, a marriage is considered legally valid only if it complies with the religious rules of the couple. In practice, this has meant that interfaith couples often face pressure to convert or marry abroad.

According to data from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP), which was cited by the applicants, at least 1,655 interfaith couples married between 2005 and July 2023. The number has continued to grow each year, despite increasingly restrictive regulations.

The legal environment became significantly tighter after the Supreme Court issued Circular Letter (SEMA) No. 2 of 2023. The circular explicitly instructs district courts not to grant applications for interfaith marriage registration, arguing that all officially recognized religions in Indonesia prohibit such unions.

Before the circular was issued, some interfaith couples had successfully obtained court orders allowing their marriages to be registered by civil authorities. That pathway is now effectively closed.

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